Population Groups In South Africa Research Articles

HbA1c comparable to fasting glucose in the external validation of the African Diabetes Risk Score and other established risk prediction models in Black South Africans

BackgroundThe use of non-invasive risk scores to detect undiagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2D) ensures the restriction of invasive and costly blood tests to those most likely to be diagnosed with the disease. This study assessed and compared the performance of the African Diabetes Risk Score (ADRS) with three other diabetes risk prediction models for identifying screen-detected diabetes based on fasting plasma glucose (FPG) or glycated haemoglobin (HBA1c).MethodsAge, sex, waist circumference, body mass index, blood pressure, history of diabetes and physical activity levels from the SA-NW-PURE study were used to externally validate the ADRS and other established risk prediction models. Discrimination was assessed and compared using C-statistics and nonparametric methods. Calibration was assessed using calibration plots, before and after recalibration.ResultsNine hundred and thirty-seven participants were included; 14% had prevalent undiagnosed T2D according to FPG and 26% according to HbA1c. Discrimination was acceptable and was mostly similar between models for both diagnostic measures. The C-statistics for diagnosis by FPG ranged from 0.69 for the Simplified FINDRISC model to 0.77 for the ADRS model and 0.77 for the Simplified FINDRISC model to 0.79 for the ADRS model for diagnosis by HbA1c. Calibration ranged from acceptable to good, though over- and underestimation were present. All models improved significantly following recalibration.ConclusionsThe models performed comparably, with the ADRS offering a non-invasive way to identify up to 79% of cases. Based on its ease of use and performance, the ADRS is recommended for screening for T2D in certain Black population groups in South Africa. HbA1c as a means of diagnosis also showed comparable performance with FPG. Therefore, further validation studies can potentially use HbA1c as the standard to compare to.

Access to healthcare services for transgender people in South Africa: assessing healthcare experiences and human rights

Background: The transgender population is one of the most marginalized and misunderstood population groups in South Africa. Despite a progressive and inclusive human rights-based legal framework, transgender people in South Africa are vulnerable to multiple human rights violations, including inequality and grave healthcare disparities. Aims: This study aims to assess the healthcare disparities experienced by transgender persons in South Africa. In South Africa, transgender people are legally entitled to equality and the right to access healthcare services. The article examines sparsely explored discrepancies and recommends how a transgender person’s right to access healthcare can be strengthened through a comprehensive human rights approach. Methods: The methodology involved semi-structured interviews with transgender respondents and healthcare experts. The sample comprised 43 transgender respondents aged between 23 and 45 residing in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, North West and the Western Cape and a multi-disciplinary group of nine healthcare professionals working in South African health institutions. The data was analyzed through relevant thematic analysis. Results: The majority of transgender participants and healthcare experts reported that there are transgender-related inequalities in the healthcare system, including stigma and discrimination, exclusionary and culturally incompetent health services and limited availability of competent healthcare services. Discussion: There is a need for South Africa to intensify its application of transgender human rights to bridge the gap between lived experiences and the law. Comprehensive and explicit transgender-inclusive laws must be developed. Diverse transgender people must participate in the law and policy-making process. Activism, advocacy, and strategic litigation should be used effectively by relevant parties to create awareness and impact change.

Exploring the 21st Century Factors Precipitating Witchcraft Beliefs and Imputations in South Africa and Zimbabwe

This article discusses the factors precipitating witchcraft belief practises and imputations in South Africa and Zimbabwe in the 21st century. Efforts to ignore the epistemologies of this phenomenon and paint it as primitive have been the foundation of some writings by some authors, thus leaving the believers of witchcraft unsatisfied and hence turning a blind eye on life’s pertinent challenges. To collect data, a case study analysis, semi-structured interviews, and desk-based research were conducted. Knowledge holders, namely businessmen, police, religious leaders, traditional healers, and politicians, were interviewed. In Bindura, (Mashonaland province), 10 participants were interviewed in Zimbabwe and 10 in South Africa (Thohoyandou, Limpopo province). The study’s theoretical foundations were psychoanalytic theory and socio-cultural theory. The study’s findings revealed that certain rural population groups in South Africa and Zimbabwe still hold deep-seated beliefs in witchcraft. Some people have not forsaken their witchcraft beliefs and practices, which are deeply rooted in African culture. The scramble for power and dominance in business and politics, polygamous marriages, and religious beliefs and teachings contribute to witchcraft beliefs and imputations. Educational programmes and the mass media have not entirely prevailed in influencing positive change. In addition, there seem to be discrepancies between the provisions of the law and what is happening on the ground. It is recommended that the most effective and efficient way of addressing this conundrum would be to update the existing colonial witchcraft legislation to address the mismatch that is there between what the law says and what people believe.

Measuring the geographic disparity of comorbidity in commercially insured individuals compared to the distribution of physicians in South Africa

BackgroundMeasuring and addressing the disparity between access to healthcare resources and underlying health needs of populations is a prominent focus in health policy development. More recently, the fair distribution of healthcare resources among population subgroups have become an important indication of health inequities. Single disease outcomes are commonly used for healthcare resource allocations; however, leveraging population-level comorbidity measures for health disparity research has been limited. This study compares the geographical distribution of comorbidity and associated healthcare utilization among commercially insured individuals in South Africa (SA) relative to the distribution of physicians.MethodsA retrospective, cross-sectional analysis was performed comparing the geographical distribution of comorbidity and physicians for 2.6 million commercially insured individuals over 2016–2017, stratified by geographical districts and population groups in SA. We applied the Johns Hopkins ACG® System across the claims data of a large health plan administrator to measure a comorbidity risk score for each individual. By aggregating individual scores, we determined the average healthcare resource need of individuals per district, known as the comorbidity index (CMI), to describe the disease burden per district. Linear regression models were constructed to test the relationship between CMI, age, gender, population group, and population density against physician density.ResultsOur results showed a tendency for physicians to practice in geographic areas with more insurance enrollees and not necessarily where disease burden may be highest. This was confirmed by a negative relationship between physician density and CMI for the overall population and for three of the four major population groups. Among the population groups, the Black African population had, on average, access to fewer physicians per capita than other population groups, before and after adjusting for confounding factors.ConclusionCMI is a novel measure for healthcare disparities research that considers both acute and chronic conditions contributing to current and future healthcare costs. Our study linked and compared the population-level geographical distribution of CMI to the distribution of physicians using routinely collected data. Our results could provide vital information towards the more equitable distribution of healthcare providers across population groups in SA, and to meet the healthcare needs of disadvantaged communities.

Machine learning and discriminant function analysis in the formulation of generic models for sex prediction using patella measurements

Sex prediction from bone measurements that display sexual dimorphism is one of the most important aspects of forensic anthropology. Some bones like the skull and pelvis display distinct morphological traits that are based on shape. These morphological traits which are sexually dimorphic across different population groups have been shown to provide an acceptably high degree of accuracy in the prediction of sex. A sample of 100 patella of Mixed Ancestry South Africans (MASA) was collected from the Dart collection. Six parameters: maximum height (maxh), maximum breadth (maxw), maximum thickness (maxt), the height of articular facet (haf), lateral articular facet breadth (lafb), and medial articular facet breath (mafb) were used in this study. Stepwise and direct discriminant function analyses were performed for measurements that exhibited significant differences between male and female mean measurements, and the “leave-one-out” approach was used for validation. Moreover, we have used eight classical machine learning techniques along with feature ranking techniques to identify the best feature combinations for sex prediction. A stacking machine learning technique was trained and validated to classify the sex of the subject. Here, we have used the top performing three ML classifiers as base learners and the predictions of these models were used as inputs to different machine learning classifiers as meta learners to make the final decision. The measurements of the patella of South Africans are sexually dimorphic and this observation is consistent with previous studies on the patella of different countries. The range of average accuracies obtained for pooled multivariate discriminant function equations is 81.9–84.2%, while the stacking ML technique provides 90.8% accuracy which compares well with those presented for previous studies in other parts of the world. In conclusion, the models proposed in this study from measurements of the patella of different population groups in South Africa are useful resent with reasonably high average accuracies.

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Amlodipine-Associated Genes and Their Correlation with Blood Pressure Control among South African Adults with Hypertension.

Objective: This study describes the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in amlodipine-associated genes and assesses their correlation with blood pressure control among South African adults with hypertension. Methods: In total, 304 hypertensive patients on amlodipine treatment belonging to the indigenous Swati, Xhosa and Zulu population groups of South Africa were recruited between June 2017 and June 2019. Participants were categorized into: controlled (blood pressure < 140/90 mmHg) and uncontrolled (blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mmHg) hypertension. Thirteen SNPs in amlodipine pharmacogenes with a high PharmGKB evidence base were selected and genotyped using MassArray (Agena BioscienceTM). Logistic regression was fitted to identify significant associations between the SNPs and blood pressure control with amlodipine. Results: The majority of the participants were females (76.6%), older than 45 years (89.1%) and had uncontrolled hypertension (52.3%). Of the 13 SNPs genotyped, five SNPs, rs1042713 (minor allele frequency = 45.9%), rs10494366 (minor allele frequency = 35.3%), rs2239050 (minor allele frequency = 28.7%), rs2246709 (minor allele frequency = 51.6%) and rs4291 (minor allele frequency = 34.4%), were detected among the Xhosa participants, while none were detected among the Swati and Zulu tribal groups. Variants rs1042713 and rs10494366 demonstrated an expression frequency of 97.5% and 79.5%, respectively. Variant TA genotype of rs4291 was significantly associated with uncontrolled hypertension. No association was established between blood pressure response to amlodipine and the remaining four SNPs. Conclusions: This study reports the discovery of five SNPs in amlodipine genes (rs2239050, rs2246709, rs4291, rs1042713 and rs10494366) among the indigenous Xhosa-speaking tribe of South Africa. In addition, the TA genotype of rs4291 was associated with blood pressure control in this cohort. These findings might open doors for more pharmacogenomic studies, which could inform innovations to personalised anti-hypertensive treatment in the ethnically diverse population of South Africa.

Solar Ultraviolet Radiation, Skin Cancer and Photoprotective Strategies in South Africa†.

The most recent data relating to the incidence of, and mortality from, the three commonest forms of skin cancer, namely basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and cutaneous melanoma (CM), in the Black African, Colored, Asian/Indian and White population groups in South Africa are reviewed. While exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation is the major environmental risk factor for BCC in all four groups, for SSC in the White and Asian/Indian groups and for CM in the White group, this is unlikely to be the case for most SCCs in the Black African group and for most CMs in the Black African and Asian/Indian groups. Strategies for practical personal photoprotection in South Africa are discussed with particular emphasis on people at heightened risk of skin cancer including the White population group, those with HIV or oculocutaneous albinism and outdoor workers.

Is the World Health Organization’s multicentre child growth standard an appropriate growth reference for assessing optimal growth of South African mixed-ancestry children?

&#x0D; In South Africa (SA), it has been estimated that one-third of boys and 25% of girls under the age of 5 years are stunted, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Multicentre Growth Reference Study. During the past decade, research in developed and developing countries has shown that the international growth standard overestimates stunting and/or wasting when compared with population-specific growth references. Population-specific growth references typically incorporate genetic and environmental factors and can therefore better inform public health by identifying children who may be at risk for malnutrition, or who may be ill. Using the universal growth standard in SA may not be accurately assessing growth. In this article, environmental and genetic factors, and their influence on growth, are reviewed. These points are illustrated through a brief history of the peopling of SA, with an understanding of the socioeconomic and political climate – past and present. We discuss the uniqueness of certain population groups in SA, with contributions regarding some of the shortest peoples in the world and a history of sociopolitical inequities, which may mean that children from certain population groups who are perfectly healthy would underperform using the universal growth standard. Therefore, we suggest that a local population-specific growth reference would serve to better inform public health policies, and address childhood health equity and physical developmental pathways to adult health risk status.&#x0D; &#x0D;

A Spatial Analysis of Tuberculosis Related Mortality in South Africa.

Background: South Africa, with an estimated annual tuberculosis (TB) incidence of 360,000 cases in 2019, remains one of the countries with the largest burden of TB in the world. The identification of highly burdened TB areas could support public health policy planners to optimally target resources and TB control and prevention interventions. Objective: To investigate the spatial epidemiology and distribution of TB mortality in South Africa in 2010 and its association with area-level poverty and HIV burden. Methods: The study analysed a total of 776,176 TB deaths for the period 2005–2015. Local and global and spatial clustering of TB death rates were investigated by Global and Local Moran’s Indices methods (Moran’s I). The spatial regression analysis was employed to assess the effect of poverty and HIV on TB mortality rates. Results: There was a significant decrease in TB mortality rate, from 179 per 100,000 population in 2005 to 60 per 100,000 population in 2015. The annual TB mortality rate was higher among males (161.5 per 100,000 male population; (95% confidence interval (CI) 132.9, 190.0) than among females (123.2 per 100,000 female population; (95% CI 95.6, 150.8)). The 35–44 age group experienced higher TB mortality rates, regardless of gender and time. Hot spot clusters of TB mortality were found in the South-Eastern parts of the country, whereas cold spot clusters were largely in the north-eastern parts. Tuberculosis death rates were positively associated with poverty, as measured by the South African Multidimension Poverty Index (SAMPI) as well TB death rates in the neighbouring districts. Conclusion: The findings of this study revealed a statistically significant decrease in TB deaths and a disproportionate distribution of TB deaths among certain areas and population groups in South Africa. The existence of the identified inequalities in the burden of TB deaths calls for targeted public health interventions, policies, and resources to be directed towards the most vulnerable populations in South Africa.

Elusive Pursuit of Reconciliation and Development in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Debates on whether reconciliation is taking place and particularly the issue of inclusive development continue in South Africa. Reconciliation is understood as a process whereby different population groups in South Africa peacefully coexist and restore amicable relations which were fractured by colonialism and apartheid. Inclusive development has to do with the socio-economic transformation that involves, or rather benefits all the peoples of a country. Socio-economic transformation is considered slow since the dawn of democracy, with nation-building, development, freedom, and related objectives having suffered in post-apartheid South Africa. The notions of justice and inclusivity require comprehensive analysis, especially many years after the formal end of apartheid in 1994. The paper examines development and reconciliation, in seeking an explanation for what appears to be a changing political landscape in South Africa, epitomised by the decline in the number of votes that the governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), is receiving since 2009 while the Economic Freedom Fighters, a relatively new party, is gaining traction. It is argued that the slow pace of inclusive development and weak reconciliation are compromising the ANC, resulting in the evolution of the political landscape in South Africa. Essentially, the inability to improve reconciliation has resulted in weak inclusive development and makes it difficult for South Africa to become a nation.

Strong ties, weak actors? Social networks and food security among farm workers in South Africa

Farm workers employed on commercial farms are among the poorest and most food insecure population groups in South Africa. This study investigated formal (organisational) and informal exchange relations and the association with food security within ego (N = 561) and whole networks (N = 54) among farm workers and their households on three commercial farms. All households were food insecure, with mildly food insecure actors (n = 22) showing significantly smaller-sized networks with regard to total number of ties and food exchange ties compared to moderately food insecure actors (n = 32). Informal exchange networks were largely kin-related and characterised by low economic status, located within a 50 km radius. While these networks represented an important strategy to cope with food insecurity, farm workers lack bridging ties to actors (individuals or institutions) outside the farm who may enable access to information and opportunities to mobilise resources towards enhancing food security and livelihoods in the long term. Shop owners and farm owners occupy a central position in the networks, highlighting dependency and ongoing paternalistic structures. This study contributes empirical data to the scarce literature on network analysis in the context of food security in South Africa, providing in-depth insights on a population that is formally employed, but remains poor, marginalised and forgotten in contemporary debates on food and nutrition security. Efforts to implement existing policies remain crucial to enable farm workers to access resource-rich networks, including socially more advantaged actors or organisations, in order to achieve better livelihoods outcomes.

Environmental health practitioners potentially play a key role in helping communities adapt to climate change

BackgroundVulnerable population groups in South Africa, especially those living in poverty, young children, women, the elderly and people with pre-existing diseases, are susceptible to new or exacerbated health threats resulting from climate change. Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) can play an important role in helping communities adapt to climate change health impacts, however, effective coordination of this requires further understanding of their roles in implementing climate change-related adaptation actions in communities.MethodsA cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling was undertaken at the January 2017 conference for EHPs hosted by the South African Institute of Environmental Health in Cape Town. All EHPs who attended the conference were invited to complete a study questionnaire that requested information on participant demographics, as well as climate change related-knowledge, practices and perceptions.ResultsMajority of participating EHPs (n = 48; 72.8%) had received formal or informal training on climate change and health. Thirty-nine percent of EHPs indicated that they had a climate change and health-related committee / working group in their department, a policy or strategy (41.0%) and budget allocated for climate change and health-related work (51.5%). A total of 33.3% had participated in climate change-related projects. Majority (62.2%) of EHPs believed that they should play a supportive role in addressing climate change while 37.8% believed that EHPs should play a leading role.ConclusionsRecognising the need for raising awareness about climate change adaptation as well as implementing appropriate interventions to combat climate-related ill health effects, especially among vulnerable groups, EHPs are well-placed to adopt significant roles in helping communities to adapt to climate change.

Racial or Ethnic Health Disparities among Older Adults in Four Population Groups in South Africa

Background:Racial or ethnic health disparities have been evidently apparent during the apartheid era in South Africa. This study aims to assess ethnic health disparities in four elderly population groups.Methods:Data for this study emanated from the 2008 study of “Global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) wave 1” (N = 3284) aged 50 years or older in South Africa. Associations between exposure variables and outcome variables (health status variables and chronic conditions) were examined through bivariate analyses and multivariable logistic regression.Results:Indians or Asians reported the highest prevalence of poor self-rated health (23.7%) and functional disability (11.6% and 29.1%). Coloureds had the lowest grip strength (55.3%) and Whites the highest cognitive functioning (80.1%). Coloureds had the highest prevalence of hypertension (85.0%), stroke and/or angina (15.0%), edentulism (26.8%) and low vision (50.6%); and Indians or Asians had the highest prevalence of arthritis (43.5%) and diabetes (24.4%). In adjusted analysis, Whites (Odds Ratio [OR]: 0.24, Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.11, 0.57) and Coloureds (OR: 0.50, CI: 0.29, 0.87) had lower odds of self-reported health status compared to Black Africans. Coloureds (OR: 0.36, CI: 0.22, 0.61) had lower odds of grip strength than Black Africans. Indians or Asians had higher odds of functional disability (OR: 1.87, CI: 1.03, 3.02) and diabetes (OR: 2.65, CI: 1.45, 4.83) than Black Africans. Whites (OR: 3.92, CI: 1.63, 9.41) and Coloureds (OR: 2.14, CI: 1.21, 3.78) had higher odds of cognitive functioning than Black Africans. Whites had lower odds (OR: 0.54, CI: 0.31, 0.93) and Indians or Asians had higher odds (OR: 1.91, CI: 1.91, 1.01, 3.59) of arthritis than Black Africans. Coloureds had a higher prevalence of hypertension (OR: 1.71, CI: 1.14, 2.58), stroke and/or angina (OR: 1.74, CI = 1.36, 2.22), edentulism (OR: 6.51, CI: 4.07, 10.41) and low vision (OR: 1.68, CI: 1.29, 2.19) than Black Africans.Conclusion:There are still ethnic health disparities in South Africa in the post-apartheid era (i.e., Black Africans [lower cognitive functioning], Whites [poor self-reported health status and edentulism], Coloureds [poor self-reported health status, lower grip strength, arthritis, hypertension, stroke and/or angina, edentulism and low vision], Indians or Asians [poor functional disability, arthritis and diabetes]). Understanding these ethnic health disparities may help in developing better strategies to improve health across population groups.

The influence of HIV infection on the age dependence of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin in South Africa.

Cancer incidence typically increases with age, but it is not known whether ethnic characteristics influence the age dependence of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin (SCC). (i) To determine the age dependence of SCC in the black African, coloured and white population groups of South Africa (SA); and (ii) to show whether any differences in the rate of change of age dependence could be influenced by diversity in behaviour and lifestyle, especially with regard to the prevalence of HIV infection, rather than by a fundamental variation in cancer biology between the populations. Linear regression analysis was applied to the logarithm of the age-specific incidence rates for SCC v. the logarithm of age between 35 and 74 years. The slopes of the regression (age exponent) were compared for each subset of gender, population group and year of diagnosis (between 2000 and 2010). The most notable feature was the low value of the age exponent in both male and female black African compared with the white and coloured populations. This finding could be explained in part by the difference in the prevalence of HIV infection in the black African population group compared with the white and coloured population groups. The prevalence of HIV infection in black Africans in SA tends to decrease the apparent age component in SCC compared with the white and coloured population groups. Other factors relating to lifestyle and behaviour that differ between the population groups are also likely to influence the age component in SCC.

A Study of Food Advertising in Magazines in South Africa

ABSTRACTLittle is known about food advertising in the print media in South Africa or other developing countries. We investigated the extent to which different ethnic population groups of South Africa are exposed to magazine advertising for food and beverages. Five different magazines (n = 162 issues) with the most adult readers were assessed. We identified 959 food-related advertisements. These were for food and beverages (80.9%), dietary supplements (10.4%), and slimming products (8.7%). Of the 658 advertisements for specific food and beverages, most (59.3%) were for unhealthy foods. Numerous cases of misleading health/nutrition claims were seen. Government interventions are required to reduce the advertising of unhealthy food-related products and to curb misleading advertising.

An evaluation of nasal bone and aperture shape among three South African populations

Reliable and valid population specific standards are necessary to accurately develop a biological profile, which includes an estimation of peer-reported social identification (Hefner, 2009). During the last 300 years, colonialism, slavery and apartheid created geographic, physical and social divisions of population groups in South Africa. The purpose of this study was to evaluate variation in nasal bone and aperture shape in a modern population of black, white, and coloured South Africans using standard craniometric variables and geometric morphometrics, namely general Procrustes and elliptical Fourier analyses.Fourteen standard landmarks were digitally recorded or computationally derived from 310 crania using a 3D coordinate digitizer for discriminant function, principal components and generalized Procrustes analyses. For elliptical Fourier analysis, outlines of the nasal aperture were generated from standardized photographs. All classification accuracies were better than chance; the lowest accuracies were for coloured and the highest accuracies were for white South Africans. Most difficulties arose in distinguishing coloured and black South African groups from each other. Generally, misclassifications were noted between the sexes within each group rather than among groups, which suggests that sex has less influence on nasal bone and aperture shape than ancestry. Quantifiable variation in shape of the nasal aperture region between white and non-white South African groups was observed.

Accessibility, affordability and use of health services in an urban area in South Africa.

BackgroundInequalities in healthcare between population groups of South Africa existed during the apartheid era and continue to exist both between and within many population groups. Accessibility and affordability of healthcare is a human right.ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to explore and describe accessibility, affordability and the use of health services by the mixed race (coloured) population in the Western Cape, South Africa.MethodA cross-sectional descriptive, non-experimental study with a quantitative approach was applied. A purposive convenient sample of 353 participants (0.6%) was drawn from a population of 63 004 economically-active people who lived in the residential areas as defined for the purpose of the study. All social classes were represented. The hypothesis set was that there is a positive relationship between accessibility, affordability and the use of health services. A pilot study was conducted which also supported the reliability and validity of the study. Ethics approval was obtained from the University of Stellenbosch and informed consent from respondents. A questionnaire was used to collect the data.ResultsThe hypothesis was accepted. The statistical association between affordability (p = < 0.01), accessibility (p = < 0.01) and the use of health services was found to be significant using the Chi-square (χ2) test.ConclusionThe study has shown how affordability and accessibility may influence the use of healthcare services. Accessibility is not only the distance an individual must travel to reach the health service point but more so the utilisation of these services. Continuous Quality Management should be a priority in healthcare services, which should be user-friendly.

Urban South African Adolescents' Perceptions of Their Neighborhood Socio-Economic Environments: The Birth to Twenty Plus Cohort Study

The Apartheid era led to major differences in the living conditions between population groups in South Africa. Subsequently, reforms have been implemented to reduce poverty and inequalities. This study aims to assess neighborhood and school socio-economic (SE) environments reported by adolescents to determine whether geographic and population group differences in the SE environment exist. Neighborhood SE status was assessed using a novel questionnaire adapted to the urban South African context. Black African and Mixed Ancestry participants lived in more deprived SE environments and reported studying in less favorable school environments compared to Whites. Among Black Africans, those living in Soweto versus metropolitan Johannesburg reported more deprived economic and school environments.

Urban South African Adolescents' Perceptions of Their Neighborhood Socio-Economic Environments: The Birth to Twenty Plus Cohort Study

The Apartheid era led to major differences in the living conditions between population groups in South Africa. Subsequently, reforms have been implemented to reduce poverty and inequalities. This study aims to assess neighborhood and school socio-economic (SE) environments reported by adolescents to determine whether geographic and population group differences in the SE environment exist. Neighborhood SE status was assessed using a novel questionnaire adapted to the urban South African context. Black African and Mixed Ancestry participants lived in more deprived SE environments and reported studying in less favorable school environments compared to Whites. Among Black Africans, those living in Soweto versus metropolitan Johannesburg reported more deprived economic and school environments.

Perceptions of taxation: A comparative study of different population groups in South Africa

South Africa is a country of diverse cultures, languages, beliefs and backgrounds. It is conceivable that these different population groups may have differing perceptions of taxation resulting from their cultural backgrounds or even their political and social histories. These perceptions may, in turn, influence their attitudes towards tax compliance. It is, therefore, argued that in order to change taxpaying behaviour, perceptions must be first be identified, and then influenced in a positive way towards tax compliance.This study extends prior research by investigating and comparing taxpayers’ perceptions amongst the four major South African population groups (that is, Black/African, Indian, Coloured and White).The data for this study was collected from a sample of 260 South African taxpayers by means of face-to-face interviews, based on a questionnaire, compiled from an extensive literature review. The scope of the study was limited as it focused only on natural taxpayers within the Tshwane metropolitan area (which includes Pretoria, the capital city of South Africa) in Gauteng, as the purpose was not to generalise conclusions to the entire South African population.It was found that different population groups in South Africa may have different perceptions towards taxation. In order to create a more positive tax culture, government could possibly focus more strongly on educating the various population groups about the importance of paying their taxes. A multifaceted approach is needed in order to understand and influence the large number of factors that play a role in individual behaviour.